Synkroniciti is excited to welcome back Diane Funston with two powerful poems. “Strength” introduces us to Austin, a young man disabled in an accident. We often fail to see disabled people as people, not only ignoring their challenges but, even worse, ignoring their aspirations and their talents. We wash them in pity instead of recognizing that they have much to teach us and also have areas of their lives where they exceed us. Diane draws our attention to the ugly and the beautiful–she does not look away and neither can we. The punch at the end is so moving as we see this gentle giant for the man he is. “The Nerve” is about Diane’s journey to empowerment and a bright red pickup named Fiona. She reminds us that we don’t grow by being afraid of ourselves (or the color red) or by letting other people make decisions for us. Autonomy is not a want, it is vital to becoming fully who we are. This is a profound statement about the value of life’s entire journey, not just the postcard moments.
Read Diane’s bold poetry in our “Empowered” issue of our online magazine, available here. You can subscribe or order the issue, which debuted September 1, 2022.
Diane Funston writes poetry of nature and human nature. She co-founded a women’s poetry salon in San Diego, created a weekly poetry gathering in the high desert town of Tehachapi, CA and most recently has been the Yuba-Sutter Arts and Culture Poet-in-Residence for the past two years. It is in this role she created Poetry Square, a monthly online venue that features poets from all over the world reading their work and discussing creative process.
Diane has been published in Synkroniciti, California Quarterly, Whirlwind, San Diego Poetry Annual, Summation, and quite a few other literary journals. Her first chapbook, “Over the Falls” was published this July 2022 from Foothills Publishing.
Diane is also a visual artist in mosaic, wool felting, and collage. Her pieces have been in galleries in the Sacramento Valley.
From our “Ritual” issue, here is Diane’s “Cleansing.” If you would like to read the whole issue, which also contains two more poems by Diane, you may purchase it here. Look for Jack Freedman’s fiery “Cauldron” on the cover.
